FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — In a modest ceremony Sunday, Governor Andy Beshear paid tribute to families and loved ones of service members who have been killed in combat.
"Our Gold Star families deserve everybody's love and everybody's attention," Beshear said. "And I hope today, on behalf of this commonwealth, you can feel just a little bit of our love."
The last Sunday of September is recognized as Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day. The ceremony in Frankfort was held on capitol grounds, where a monument dedicated to Gold Star families was unveiled last year.
"There ought to be one of these monuments on every capitol ground of every state in this union," Hershel "Woody" Williams, the only living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, said during his remarks.
Gold Star family members agreed with that statement.
"It's really not about us," said Lynn Romans, the mother of slain Sergeant Darrin K. Potter. "But it's about remembering those who have given all."
Like Romans, Tyra Anderon spoke about her own loss. Her father, Captain Timothy Anderson, was killed in action ten years ago.
"He loved sports," she said in an interview after the ceremony. "He was a hard worker. He was a really phenomenal dad and he's someone that I really miss every day."
Anderson said that she hopes ceremonies like the one held Sunday will remind people of the lingering pain that families live with many years after a service member dies in combat.
